Folding push chair



June 14, 1949. a. c. w. SPACKMAN 2,473,350

- FOLDING rusa 'CHAiR Filed July 31, 1946 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Julie 14',1949! B. c z. WLSPACKMAN FOLDING PUSH crmm 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July31, 1946 guard/ 01 25, fi pwajhmazz/ Q r Patented June 14, 1949 BernardClarence Walter 'Spaclrman, Auckland, Auckland, Newizeailand Ap licationJuly 19465Seriial N0. BS-7,363 'i nltlew fi'ealand Ma Z8,'--1-946 5Claims.

The invention relates I o folding pushchairs. and has for its object theprovision of an arm proved .form' thereof, capable of being operated bya .person using one hand only, as in the *case of a woman carrying achild" on one arm, to "he either folded :into' acompact andeasilyhandled package, or to be unf'olded and set up for use, both operationsbeing easily and readily performed iinacminimum of' time.

According to the invention, the improved foldingpush chair comprises aseat portion; side ipo'r- :ti'ons hinged to the latter; wheels mountedon said side portions; :a pivoted foot rest adapted to serve as aspreader between said hingeds'ide portions, when the wheelsare disposedfor use arm rests pivotally mounted on 'supportin'ghars pivoted to theseat portion, and adapted to fold the'eron; a hack consisting of hingedtogether portions, pivoted to said seat portion; spring catch meansadapted to act between said arm rests and said back; and stops onsaid-seat portion adapted with the s ring catchmeans to hold-the back,and the arm rests in posit-ion'when the chai-r is set up for use.

The invention is ilustrated in the accompanying drawing, and will bemore particularly described in conjunction therewith:

Figure 1 being -aside-elevation of the improved push chair opened outready for use,

Figure 2 a sectional elevation, and

Figure 3 'afront elevation of same;

Figure 4 a part cross sectional eievat'ion'and Figures 5, 6, 7 a sideview, a front view and a rear view respectively, of the chair folded forcarry-mg, transport orstorage, as may he reeuired.

"The chair is tor-med with a hollow seat portion 1, provided withsideand end walls, butno bottom, the side walls of said seat portion- 1 eachhaving hinged along its loweredge a hollow or double walled lower side2,the hinges 3 being formed so that said lower sides 2 can be swuninwards and upwards into the hollow seatportion l, but so that saidlower sides are not able to be swung outwards beyond the vertical, inwhich position they form extensions of the side walls of the seatportion l.

The wheels 4 upon which the chair is adapted to run along the ground orother surface, are mounted and accommodated in the hollow lower sides 2by any approved means, and so as to project the necessary distance belowthe lower edges thereof to obtain a desired ground clearance.

A foot rest 5 pivotally mounted or hinged between lugs 6 one at eachside of the lower edge of the front wall of the seat portion l-,-Servesas a spreader and provides the means for maintain"- ing the hinged lowerside walls 2 apart, each-in a ver tical position, so that the wheels 4are disposed for use, said foot rest 5 being formedwith side walls,spaced apart and made rigid by-a cross bar l, containing an "aperture 8,and with tongues or'projecti'ons 9 on the inner ends of said spacedapart side walls, adapted to enter recesses til in the froh-t ends ofthe lower sidewalls 2.

The-backer the chair is'in twoportions, a lower portion ll pivoted :atthe lower ends-of its sides to the upper'rear corn'ers of the sidewalls-of the seat portion 1, and an upper portion 42 hinged to the upperedge of the lower portion ilfthe -joint "-13 between said portions H and'12 being such that the latter is free to fold downwards on the former,but looks against said portion H and can not be moved upwards on samemore than is necessary to 'bringsai'd portions-H and 12 into"alignment-with each other.

The upper leach portion [2 is provided with a handle J3, and "containsan aperture l4, near the latter, and the opened out back formed bythe'portions H and 12 being brought into line with each other isprevented from being raised above a predetermined position on the seatportion by stops 15 on the outsides of the'side walls of the latter;while said back is retained in the raised position for use by springcatches l 6 which snap into holes or recesses IT in the arm rests 1 8fpivotally mounted on the upper ends of supporting bars 19, pivoted attheir lower ends to the outsides of the side walls of the seat portionI.

"The rear su porting bars 1 9 or the arm rests 1 8 are-,When the latterare raised into position for use, adapted to hear againstthe forwardfaces of the sto s it, and to be retained thereagainst by the springcatches l6 engaging in the arnrre'sts l*B,so that the latter and thechair back are locked together, and are held against either forward orrearward movement by the stops it.

The chair can be constructed or formed of any suitable material orcombination of materials, the arm rests l8 having an angle-iron crosssection, while the back has a flange or web at each side through whichthe portions II and [2 are hinged together, and the portion ll pivotedto the seat portion l, but it is preferred to form the chair of partscast in or stamped out of plastic or similar material in order tofacilitate mass production of the chairs.

To collapse or fold the chair, the spring catches I6 are disengaged fromthe holes or recesses I1. in the arm rests l8, which with the bars I9are folded down on the sides of the seat portion 1, with the arm restsl8 covering the bars I9, and resting on the upper side corners of theseat portion I.

The chair is then gripped by the front end, and the foot rest foldedagainst the latter, which action withdraws the tongues 9 from therecesses ID in the lower side walls 2, thereby leaving the latter freeto swing inwards, following which the chair is turned upside down, tocause said lower side walls 2 with the wheels 4 thereon, to fold' intothe interior of the seat portion l.

The partly folded chair is then tilted with the rear wall of the seatportion I uppermost, and

the back consisting of the portions H and I2, folded over said rearwall, and the base of the seat portion 1, now with the side walls 2 andwheel 4 therein, so that the handle I3 and the aperture 14 are disposedadjacent the aperture 8 in the cross bar 1 of the foot rest 5, wherebyit is possible to grip both the handle 13 and cross-bar 1 with one handand conveniently carry the folded chair.

All of the aforesaid operations are capable of being performed with onehand, as for instance, when a child is being held on one arm, leavingonly one hand free for folding the chair.

To open the chair for use, it is held right side up, and the handle i3released from the grasp, and by falling down, uncovers and releases thelower side walls 2, which drop to vertical positions and present thewheels 4 for use, following which the foot rest 5 is adjusted so thatthe tongues 9 enter the recesses l0, and keep said lower side walls 2spread apart.

The chair is placed on the ground, the back raised into position, andthe spring catches l6 engaged in the holes or recesses I! in the armrests I8; these operations also all being capable of being performedwith one hand only.

What I do claim and desire to obtain by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates of America is:

1. A folding push chair comprising a seat portion, side portions hingedthereto and capable of being swung inwardly only, front and rear wheelsmounted on said side portions, a pivoted foot rest adapted to serve as aspreader between said hinged side portions when all of the wheels aredisposed for use, supporting bars pivoted to the .seat portion, armrests pivotally mounted on said supporting bars and adapted with thebars to fold on the seat portion, a back consisting of hinged togetherportions pivoted to said seat portion, the back being foldable partlyaround the seat portion to retain the hinged side portions with thewheels thereon and the pivoted foot rest in folded positions to providewith the foot rest .means for carrying the folded chair, spring catchmeans adapted to act between said arm rests and said back, and stops onsaid seat portion cooperating with said spring catch means to hold theback and the arm rests in position when the chair is set up for use.

2. A folding push chair as claimed in claim 1 wherein the seat portionis formed with side and end walls and wherein the hinged side portionsare hinged to the lower edges of the side walls and provide extensionsof the side walls and are further provided with recesses, and tongues onthe foot rest for engaging the recesses when the foot rest is moved toposition to hold the side portions with the wheels thereon extended.

3. A folding push chair comprising a hollow seat portion havingdepending side and end walls, side portions hinged to the lower edges ofsaid side walls and provided with recesses at their front edges andcapable of being swung inwards only, front and rear wheels mounted onthe inner surfaces of the hinged side portions, 2. foot rest pivoted tothe lower part of the front end wall of the seat and including sidewalls with tongues thereon capable when the foot rest is swungdownwardly of being engaged in the recesses in the hinged side portionsto maintain the same spread apart and the wheels disposed for use, aback consisting of hinged together portions adapted to lock againstmovement in one direction when brought into alignment with each other,the outer back portion constituting a handle having an aperture, barspivoted to the seat portion, and an arm rest pivotally mounted on thebars, stops on said seat portion between the bars and said back, andspring catches adapted to engage in the arm rest and to maintain thelatter and said back against said stops when the chair is set up foruse.

4. A folding push chair as claimed inclaim 3 in which a cross bar iscarried by the side walls of the foot rest and is provided with anaperture which cooperates and aligns with the aperture in the outer backportion when the chair is folded to form hand holds to facilitate thecarrying thereof.

5. A device as claimed in claim 3 in which the outer edge of the footrest is curved upwardly and when in a folded position is adapted toengage the front edges of the arm rests to hold the latter against theseat.

BERNARD CLARENCE WALTER SPACKMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,000,875 Bernon May 7, 19352,119,836 Waeles et al June '7, 1938 2,170,227 Weber Aug. 22, 19392,427,205 Ford Sept.9, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 169,059Great Britain Sept. 22, 1921

